Mr. Trump is expected to announce on Tuesday that he has chosen Exxon Mobil chief Rex. W. Tillerson as his pick for secretary of state, rejecting bipartisan concern that he has forged a too-cozy relationship with Vladimir V. Putin, the president of Russia.

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CreditGreg Baker/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

2. China returned fire at Mr. Trump over his questioning of the long-held U.S. policy to recognize to Taiwan as part of “one China.” A state-run tabloid said his grasp of foreign policy was “like a child.”

Syrian government forces have retaken large parts of rebel-held neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo, leaving few areas under opposition control on Monday.Published OnDec. 12, 2016CreditImage by Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

And investors who control more than $5 trillion in assets have agreed to drop some or all of their fossil fuel stocks. The divestment movement has doubled in size in 15 months.

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CreditKevin D. Liles for The New York Times

6. In courts across the U.S., low-level offenders can get a chance to avoid the devastating consequences of a criminal record, taking classes and doing community service through a program called diversion.

Above, Marcy Willis, who struggled but is now just $25 from a clean record.

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CreditPeter Pereira/Standard-Times, via Associated Press

7. About one in six American adults reported taking psychiatric drugs, according to a new analysis. And researchers say an increasing number of infants in the rural U.S. are born drug-dependent, largely to mothers on opioids.

Here’s more advice from scientists who studied gift-giving rituals: Don’t aim for the “big reveal,” don’t be ashamed to regift, and if someone has asked for something, skip the surprise and buy it for them.